Woman gets prison for boiling water on roommate

HARTFORD — A Hartford woman who was so angry at her roommate that she dumped boiling water on her naked body, severely burning her genital area, thighs, abdomen and buttocks, was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison.

Octavia Marie Camby, 44, has been jailed since her arrest in June 2018. The incident occurred July 13, 2015 in Hartford.

Camby and her roommate had argued, although it remains unclear what about. The street drug PCP was also involved, prosecutor Robin Krawczyk said.

The end result was Camby tossing the boiling water on her roommate as the woman was lying on her bed, naked.

The woman “was awakened to see her skin melting off her body,” reads the warrant for Camby’s arrest.

After the attack, the victim ran into the bathroom, barricading herself for 30 to 45 minutes while Camby pushed a knife under the door in an attempt to cut her feet. The woman did not leave the bathroom until she heard Camby leave the apartment.

The victim underwent surgery at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and then spent several weeks at Bridgeport Hospital’s burn unit, where she underwent skin grafts to repair the damage.

Everyone involved was using PCP, Krawczyk said Thursday, making them unable to provide coherent accounts of what happened, Krawczyk said.

Camby’s sentence was five years in prison, suspended after she serves one year, and three years of probation. While on probation, Camby must undergo substance abuse evaluation and treatment and take an anger management class.